COUNTRY’S FINANCES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 313, 1 December 1933, Page 7

COUNTRY’S FINANCES.

REPLY TO CRITICISM. STATEMENT BY FINANCE MINISTER. WELLINGTON, Dec. 1. Remarks made by the Minister of Finance (Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) in the House of Representatives on Wednesday night concerning the criticism of New Zealand public finances by the chairman of the Bank of New South Wales, Mr Thomas Buckland, at the annual meeting of the bank in Sydney, were supplemented by Mr Coates in an interview last evening. Mr Coates said that the criticism showed an incomplete knowledge of New Zealand affairs and this accounted for some erroneous inferences in it. Concerning the gold coin to be taken over by the Reserve Bank, Mr Coates said. every aspect of the matter had already been thoroughly discussed, and there was no occasion to go oyer the ground again. As to the allegation that the credit of the Dominion in London must suffer, he could say only that the decision reached was definitely endorsed by authoritative and disinterested opinion in Loudon. “As to the public finances,” Mr Coates continued, “I may say that the suggestion that they have been drifting for some years past and are out of control is unfounded and unjustified. The floating debt is the best indication of the position, and as far as this Dominion is concerned Treasury bills outstanding in the hands of the banks and the public as at March 31 last amounted to £2,380,000- only, and these bills were fully covered by liquid assets held in London. Reference to the Budget will show that the estimated deficit for this financial year is approximately £2,000,000 and not £4,500,000, as stated by Mr Buckland. Furthermore, the additional statement that the present position indicates a deficit of £9,000,000" is absolutely unwarranted and clearly shows that tne speaker has very little knowledge of conditions in New Zealand. Everything points to the Budget estimates being realised. “The remarks concerning the payment of interest on London debt by local authorities are unwarranted. The Government went out of its way to clear up the difficulties that arose, and the London Stock Exchange is now quite satisfied with the position. “Generally a good deal was said about the damage to New Zealand credit in London,” said Mr Coates. “I dislike making comparisons, but since Australia is quoted by the way of example, I would merely like to say that the latest quotations for some comparable stocks on the London market, excluding accrued ' interest, are New Zealand 5 ner cent., 1946, £lO9 ss; Commonwealth 5 per cent., 1945-75, £IOB 8s 9d. “Recent conversions on the London market provide another illustration. On September 13 a Commonwealth conversion into 3j£ per cent, stock w r as issued at £9B, while on October 3 the New Zealand loan, which in effect was practically a new issue, was heavily oversubscribed at 3% per cent, at £97. Incidentally these terms were more favourable than for any previous issue during the last thirty years.”